Sprouted Grain Doughnuts: Yes, Everyone Deserves a Treat

What the hell are doughnuts doing on your site? I can hear you muttering. Don’t click off quite yet.

You see; it’s National Doughnut Month and I thought we’d celebrate with a special recipe here at Nourished Kitchen: sprouted grain doughnuts with coconut-vanilla glaze. While you might think that a healthy recipe may well defeat the whole foundation of doughnut enjoyment, hear me out: these faintly sweet homemade doughnuts are a delicious, full-flavored pastry that make the sugary sweet grocery store varieties pale in comparison. A far cry from its tooth-rotting and airy cousins, these sprouted grain doughnuts have a beautiful rustic texture and deep wheaty-flavor that is well complemented by coconut, honey and vanilla glaze.

Sprouted grain has its benefits. It’s higher in vitamins and more easily digested than its unsprouted counterpart. Moreover, sprouting neutralizes grain’s naturally present antinutrients which bind up minerals, preventing their full absorption. We top this doughnut with a beautiful and simple glaze of coconut oil, honey and vanilla. This glaze is also well-suited to my coconut-citrus madeleines.

sprouted grain doughnuts with coconut vanilla glaze

By Jenny
Published: October 20, 2009

Yield:12 - 18 doughnuts

Adapted from the Ladies’ Home Journal Cookbook, published in 1960. Makes approximately 12 – 18 doughnuts. Everyone deserves a treat, so enjoy.

Ingredients

sprouted grain doughnuts: ingredients

1 1/2 cupsMilk

2 tbspHoney

1 tspUnrefined Sea Salt

1/2 cupButter

1 egg(Beaten)

2 packagesDried Yeast

4 cupsSprouted Flour

Coconut Oil or Pastured Lard for Frying

1 recipeCoconut Vanilla Glaze (below)

coconut vanilla glaze: ingredients

1 cupcoconut oil(melted)

3 tbspHoney

1 tspVanilla

Instructions

sprouted grain doughnuts: instructions

Warm milk, honey, salt and butter together.

Add yeast and wait five minutes for it to proof.

Mix liquid mixture with 1 beaten egg.

Add sprouted flour and knead thoroughly.

Form into a ball and allow to rise until double in bulk. I prefer to allow my breads to rise in an Excalibur dehydrator (see sources) which is efficient and effective.

Once the dough is doubled in bulk, roll it out with a rolling pin until ½-inch thick.

Cut with a doughnut cutter or other tool. We used an inverted mason jar for the doughnut and an apple corer for the center.

Heat a ½-inch to ¾-inch coconut oil or pastured lard in a cast iron skillet over a medium-high flame.

Fry doughnuts 3 – 4 at a time in the oil. They’ll puff up nearly immediately.

About Jenny

Jenny McGruther is a wife, mother and cooking instructor specializing in real and traditional foods. She started Nourished Kitchen in 2007. Her work has been featured on CNN, the Globe & Mail, the Atlantic, the Christian Science Monitor, Denver Post and WebMD. You can find her first book, The Nourished Kitchen features more than 160 wholesome, traditional foods recipes.

Yum! These look great! I’ve been thinking about making some whole wheat apple donuts myself this fall . . . no sprouted flour in my cupboard, but yours look fantastic!

One thing that I think we all need to realize, and why I appreciate you including this recipe on your blog, is that these recipes are “special treats,” and were normally feast day recipes. Not meant to be eaten everyday, like unfortunately so many of the average American is doing. A great, fun treat to do at home for special occasions, and made much more special that way! Not only more nutritious, but a special memory. And one we shouldn’t feel guilty about, if we eat well the majority of the time.

WOW! I am totally loving this! Growing up I wasn’t a big fan of doughnuts and for a good reason! Now I must track down some sprouted flour or make my own and try this! Looks great and something my family would have fun with! Thank you for sharing :o)

Thank you for this recipe! Everywhere I turned today there were donuts, pastries, and cakes making me hungry for sweets.

These were fairly quick to make, the glaze is yummy (though I heated my coconut oil too much and it took me awhile to cool it back down.) Next time, and there will be a next time, I am adding some nutmeg to the dough just because it’s my favorite spice.

The doughnuts didn’t take too long to rise at all. Maybe an hour? 90 minutes? I let my dough rise in my dehydrator and it tends to be pretty reliable that way. I hope you enjoy these doughnuts as a treat.

Mmmmmmm..I’ve been wondering if I could make a “frosting” sort of thing without a zillion cups of powdered sugar. This oughta do it for most recipes! Hopefully someday I’ll try the doughnuts, too, but no sprouted flour here – whole wheat should work the same way? Katie

These look great. I can eat wheat, so I will try them with a gluten free flour and let you know how it turns out. You said that sprouting neutralizes grain’s naturally present antinutrients, but it really doesn’t fully neutralize the antinutrients. I find that even with gluten free grains, you really need to sprout and soak in lemon water for quite a long time before the grains are digestible.

HA! I love the first line of this post! Because the first thing I thought when I read the title was “Praise the Lord I can still have a doughnut!” hahaha!!
I have recently begun a journey in, yet again, refining our way of eating. Every so often I find that I can filter out a little more bad and incorporate a little more good. Maybe eventually I will be doing all the things I know I should.

This website is such a GREAT source and I have been sitting here reading it for hours (no exaggeration) gleaning so much information! I will be coming back again and again to try to learn all that I can about a healthier eating lifestyle.

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Posts on NourishedKitchen.com may contain affiliate links and links to sponsors, and Nourished Kitchen may receive compensation for these links. Books and other products may be accepted for review. Giveaways are sponsored or feature affiliate products. Please see our disclaimer, comment policy and privacy policy. I am also not a medical professional; rather, I am a cook. Don't ask me for medical advice.